Draperies are costly items for those decorating a home. The high cost of draperies is a result of the fabric expense and the time-intensive and complex sewing that is often involved in their making. For instance, most draperies contain pleats. Each pleat is formed by the careful gathering and folding of fabric so that it can be carefully tacked in place to create the desired draping effect. Depending on the width of a drapery panel, anywhere from five to twenty-five or more pleats may be necessary. Even for those skilled in the art of drapery making, the task of creating and completing a single pleat is an intensive project in and of itself.
Hanging draperies usually involves the use of hooks, each having a sharp-edged pin. The sharp-edged pin is inserted through the pleat while the hook is generally connected to a traverse rod. This use of sharp-edged pins provides a means for fastening drapery to the drapery rod where the pleat is necessary to hide the edge pin. The hook with its sharp-edged pin can be a danger to those who work with them, no doubt many drapery artisans have suffered a punctured finger or two. In addition, the pins as penetrating the fabric may cause tears, or partially extend through the fabric posing a danger to persons. The hook may also be deemed a danger to children. An unwary child who finds such a hook on the floor may be injured by the pin and a small child may even be able to swallow such a pin. Also, the pins as known may be either unintentionally or intentionally pulled through the fabric exposing a sharp point or edge to an individual.
Furthermore, many draperies make use of a traverse rod for hanging. The traverse rod is a large bulky rod that must span the whole width of a window that is to be covered by the drapery. The traverse rod uses an endless cord to move the hooks and the draperies across the window. The cord is subject to wear and it must maintain a certain tension in order for the rod to work properly.
Based on the above, there is a need for a drapery support and drawing structure that is able to create pleats yet eliminate the need for time-consuming, complexly-sewn pleats, eliminating the need for small hooks containing sharp-edged pins and eliminating the need of a bulky traverse rod.